It's gonna be tough to give it up, this stuff is like water for me. I can switch over to Knob Creek, but I'm not gonna enjoy it (as much). Let's hope AA gets an anti-Ohio version soon so it can all balance out.

What would the anti-Ohio version say? "Maybe next year we can hope to be 2-7 against their coach if we get really lucky"? "At least we have a better NFL team"? "At least our state's economy is better"? "At least we used to beat them"? "There is no way they are beating us 12 years in a row"?

I'm struggling to come up with it here. I'm honestly interested in hearing your suggestions....

Strange also from an historical perspective. When this Ohio - Michigan rivalry started in the 1800's, it was Michigan with the inferiority complex. Ohio had more people, was richer, more developed, was a state (rather than a territory) first, delayed Michigan's entry into statehood, and stole Michigan's land (that's still a topic of dispute, actually).

Over the years, though, our football team has been more successful. We still own the overall matchup between us and them, don't we? (that's a real question)

Most importantly, they will always know that U of M students are smarter than OSU students. The fuckeyes will never feel completely superior, no matter how much they win and we lose.

You have to remember that this is in Columbus, and Ohio State does not have a fantastic business program like Michigan does. They are too ignorant to realize that this is atrocious marketing. Their marketing school is basically nothing compared to others, so what can be expected of them? Eloquence, common sense? That will be the day.

You do realize that it probably wasn't OSU's marketing program that put up the banner. It may have been an outside firm not associated with the school. Call me crazy, but that may have been what happened.

If you're really into the boycott thing, and you like Bourbon at all, you'll be disappointed to know that Makers is owned by Beam Global Spirits, which also owns such brands as Jim Beam (okay, obv), Knob Creek, Basil Hayden's, Old Crow... so if you need a bourbon fix while staying true to the boycott, you'll have to pay close attention to what you pick up.

Yeah, that one is fine, my cousin works in the booze division of Diageo so I've had that and George Dickel (their Tennessee whiskey) a number of times.

Other ones if you really insist on boycotting:

Buffalo Trace. Their single barrel, called Elmer T. Lee, is about the same price as a bottle of Makers. The regular Buffalo Trace is good too. They also make Eagle Rare and a number of others.

Buffalo Trace also now does the distilling for Old Rip van Winkle, which includes Pappy van Winkle and some other good stuff.

The aforementioned Woodford Reserve is always a good choice.

I don't think that sign would stop me from drinking Booker's though. I tend to go with either one of the Buffalo Trace or Woodford for my regularly priced bourbons as it is, and also keep a bottle of stuff at a higher price point around, of which Booker's is, though I'm looking around for my next bottle currently and usually switch it up.

The difference between Columbus and Ann Arbor is that Columbus is a major city which treats the Buckeye's like a pro team. Ann Arbor is a medium sized city which is split between being a suburb of Detroit and a college town. If they ran the same ad in Detroit it would be about the Packers or something.

C-bus ranks 32 in metropolitan areas with 1.7m people. I live in Richmond which ranks 43 with 1.2m and still wouldn't talk it up as a "major city" to anyone I meet. I would admit it has a lot of people, though.

My theory as to why opposing rivals consider Michigan and Notre Dame fans "arrogant" is because we don't stoop to this level. Hear me out....

We don't care enough about our rivals to EVER do something like this. We don't go to basketball games upon being hired and tell everyone we're going to defeat the rival. We don't put up countdown clocks in our locker-room targeting the next time we play our rival. We're Michigan. We want to beat whoever we play. Most of the time we even expect (until recently) that we can beat whoever we play.

THAT is what bugs them. We're above this sort of stupidity. They hate that. I think they'd respect us more if we were drunken baffoons who drive through their city throwing bags of flaming cat poop.

I will continue to take the high road on all things rivalry. Hopefully most Michigan fans will do the same. We'll let the other guys obsess over their opponents while we obsess over our own team.

No OSU didn't put it up, but someone in the marketing at Maker's Mark knew something about their target market in Columbus and decided this is something that would appeal to them.

I'm sure people would laugh if it was put up in AA and like it but I'm sure whoever is in charge of the area would know and think that most Michigan fans would consider ourselves above such things and would decide to take some other type of marketing angle. I may be wrong and this amount of thought is not put into these things but there has to be a reason you don't see ribbing of rivals or scores plastered on billboards around AA. We prefer the national media to take care of that.

It's a joke man, get over yourself. If anyone is "above" a joke they must have serious emotional issues. It's a clever joke, targeted at OSU fans (in Columbus, not Ann Arbor) to get them to feel a connection with the product. They're just trying to make sales, don't take it personal. Jesus.

This has nothing to do w/ me getting over myself. My point was simply that I do not think you would see something like that in AA. Market research of south eastern Michigan would probably show that there isn't vast expanses of obsessed Michigan fans being there is two major universities and a large city w/ 4 major sports teams. Unlike central Ohio where people have the Buckeyes and maybe the Blue Jackets.

I wonder what would happen if we woke up tomorrow and there was Makers Mark sign hanging off of the Ford Building or some other like it that was in some way bashing tO$U. I really have to think that we would laugh and giggle about it and write it off as just a joke and a marketing ad. This is a company's marketing ploy and nothing more than that. Let's not make it into the holocaust because Makers Mark made fun of us. remember everybody we went 3-9. For how many years now have we been kicking everybody's asses and now it is coming back to haunt us a little bit. Just smile and go with it.

If OSU went 3-9 and some rum company put up a billboard like that in Ann Arbor or Detroit, we ABSOLUTELY would enjoy it and smile. Lord knows I would.

Of course, OSU fans would go batshit, but then I'm sure some M fan like you would, in your most condescending and arrogant tone, explain that it was "just a joke" and it wasn't meant to offend OSU fans and it was only a regional ad blah blah blah. I am convinced this would happen.

When the shoe is on the other foot, there is no evidence to suggest we would behave any differently.

This isn't on national TV... it's an ad in Columbus that you would have never seen if Brian hadn't snapped this picture. And guess what!!!!!!!!!!! I bet they probably have no affiliation with either school! They just want people in Ohio to buy their whiskey. I'll bet $99 they'd put the same ad up in Ann Arbor if it were the same size as Columbus.